Background: The Chinese Communist Party was made because the leaders wanted to make a united China. Their aims were to make China a communist state in which the peasants owned the farms, industries and businesses.
Summary: The Communist Party of China was formed in 1921 but had its origins in the May Fourth Movement of 1919, in which radical ideologies like Marxism and Anarchism gained traction among Chinese intellectuals. It was under the control of Mao Zedong’s in 1927. The Second Sino- Japanese War caused a pause in the conflict between the CPC (Communist Party of China) and the KMT Eventually Mao led a revolution, and the communist party obtained control in 1947. The civil war also occurred at the same time as the Second Sino-Japanese War from 1931 – 1045, when Japan invaded China. During this time period, the KMT (Nationalists) against the CCP, but both sides occasionally did work together to fight the Japanese. After Japan’s surrender in 1945, the two sides could focus on each other. By this time, the KMT’s disastrous financial policies had bankrupted China while the CCP had gained much influence among the poor farmers and workers of China. In the Sino-Soviet split (Sino-Soviet Split was the deterioration of political and ideological relations between the neighboring states of People’s Republic of China and the Union of Soviet Socialists Republics during the Cold War) of the 1950’s, Mao split from traditional Marxism-Leninism and developed Maoism, the Chinese interpretation of communism.
Perspectives: The Nationalists in China had a completely different aim then the communists and they fought each other for a long time. The Chinese nationalism was drawn from extremely diverse ideological sources including traditional Chinese thinking. The Nationalists fought the communists in the Chinese Civil war and the communists came out victorious. People believed that this was because they made fewer military mistakes than the Nationalists. Also because in Chiang Kai-Sheks search for a powerful centralized government, he antagonized to many interest groups in china. Furthermore, his Chiang’s party was weakened in the war against the Japanese. Meanwhile communists targeted different groups such as peasants, and brought them to its corner.
Implications: After the communists gained victory in 1949, Mao propped a socioeconomic plan called The Great Leap Forward, an effort to boost agricultural output. He enforced plan to grow large quantities of crops, and often different kinds, in the same plots of land, often close together. It was believed (in accordance with communist ideology), that these several plants growing in close proximity to one another would help each other to grow. The result turned out to be the opposite, the crops ended up being malnourished because of its close proximity and Mao’s great leap forward ended up resulting in a major famine and an estimated death toll of forty to seventy million Chinese citizens. This result of communist leaders being elected caused horrific issues and a massive death toll.
Sources1)
This photograph is an image that reveals the communists entering Beijing in 1949. This was the beginning of Mao’s real leadership and he was prepping to try bring this communist party to fruition. A lot of other places such as Shanghai suffered immense changes because they were captured by communists, but Beijing was spared because the general commanding the Nationalist troops surrendered to the communists.
SOURCE 2
This source indicates when the communists captured Shanghai, and was reported that a nit one fight was put up against them. The article that was posted in The Canberra Times stated “Shanghai – the greatest city in all Asia – has fallen to the has the Communists. Green-clad Communists troops entered the city early this morning without a fight, and to the pealing of church bells”. As the communists approached Shanghai inflation rose so high that traders at the Shanghai stock market left piles of near worthless currency on the floor because “there was too much to lock up”. After the communists took over Shanghai, the cafes and dance halls were quickly close down. People were afraid to wear jewellery because there was the chance they could be mistaken as bourgeois.
SOURCE 3
) Mao Zong interviewd by Edgar Snow in Red Star Over China (1936) “ In the winter of 1920, I organized workers politically, for the first time, and began .to be guided in this by the influence of Marxist theory and the history of the Russian Revolution. During my second visit to Beijing I had read much about the events in Russia, and had eagerly sought out what little Communist literature was then available in Chinese. Three books especially deeply carved my mind, and built up in me a faith in Marxism, from which, once I had accepted it as the correct interpretation of history, I did not afterwards waver. These books were the Communist Manifesto, translated by Chen Wangdao, and the first Marxist book ever published in Chinese; Class Struggle, by Kautsky; and a History of Socialism, by Kirkupp. By the summer of 1920 I had become, in theory and to some extent in action, a Marxist, and from this time on I considered myself a Marxist. “
This source indicates what it was like for people who hadn’t experienced China in their political ways yet. And see how they are influenced and pointed into a certain direction. Like Edgar Snow who interviewed Mao Zedong, who was the leader of the communist party. Mao Zedong explains how he came to be a Marxist and which then led to Mao become the leader of the Chinese Communist Party.
SOURCE 4
“Mao's Great Leap Forward 'killed 45 million in four years' Mao Zedong, founder of the People's Republic of China, qualifies as the greatest mass murderer in world history, an expert who had unprecedented access to official Communist Party archives said yesterday.”
This source is referring to the Great Chinese Famine that occurred while under Mao’s communist leadership. This was one of the worst disasters that have occurred in Chinas time. 45 million people lost their lives due to starvation and sicknesses/diseases. Mao’s vegetable plan was one of the big causes that contributed to the disaster unfolding and would eventually lead on to Mao not being ruler of the Chinese Communist Party for not much longer after this tragic event that would’ve ended so many innocent lives.
SOURCE 5 This picture indicates Mao Zedong standing in front of a Communist Flag, which is over looking China. Mao is seen to look very strong and looking very proudly over his great Communist nation. Mao Zedong was one of the main contributors to the spreading of Communism in China. If Mao Zedong and his followers had not been such a keen supporter of communism, it is so very likely that China would not have fallen to communism. But just looking at this image you can see how powerful Mao Zedong was and he wasn’t going to back down from a fight that easily.
SOURCE 6
This report is a detailed document on the political situation in China and on the events leading up to the formation of the Communist Government. Files such as this cover the economic situation and the British commercial interests in China. The document states that these people writing to the Chinese want to help maintain world peace and make sure that the Chinese are on these British people’s side and that communism is spreading all over the world.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Biblio details:
"Milestones: 1945–1952 - Office Of The Historian". History.state.gov. N.p., 2016. Web. 8 Aug. 2016.
Notes:
An informative website, presents a range of views on China becoming communist and allows the website viewer to gain an opinion on the topic easily.
Biblio details:
"China 1949 To 1953 - History Learning Site". History Learning Site. N.p., 2016. Web. 8 Aug. 2016.
Notes:
A useful website, could do with a little bit more information on China becoming communist but it does present some good information on the topic.
Biblio details:
"China Becoming Communist". Lauren Pawlowski's Cold War Website. N.p., 2016. Web. 8 Aug. 2016.
Notes:
An appealing website, does need some more information to make it a very good website, but it is pleasing on the eye and uses images to further enhance the appeal.
Biblio details:
Gilmartin, Christina K. Engendering The Chinese Revolution. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995. Print.
Notes:
A somewhat good book for the China becoming communist, could do a little bit more information on what really went down and how the events unfolded.
Biblio details:
Gay, Kathlyn. The Aftermath Of The Chinese Nationalist Revolution. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century Books, 2009. Print.
Notes:
The text could focus more on both sides instead of just on the feminine side of China becoming communist but otherwise a useful text.
Question one: “Cold War? Heck, it was a hot war!” (Robert McNamara, US Secretary of Defence 1961 – 1968) To what extent do you agree with Robert McNamara’s statement that it was a ‘hot war’? The cold war was very much indeed a hot water, because so many things were happening and going on that the whole world was getting very heated and flustered by the enormous amount battles and wars in wars that were going on around everyone. Robert McNamara was correct in what he said that it was indeed “a hot war”. But it was as well very much still a cold war, since much of the suffering from civilians and people were from the freezing temperatures that were happening in this area. The harsh weather conditions were almost a battle in itself and there was no way of getting around it, the weather couldn’t surrender or stop, it was just an ongoing battle that caused many diseases and sicknesses and resulted in millions of deaths. The Cold War actually did have a lot of armed fighting and lots of people lost their lives in result of this. But the main reasons that any of these fights broke out was because it was indeed a cold war and that the economic, political and military rivalry between all these nations actually caused hostility and it created an atmosphere of strain and had the potential and actually did end up leading to immense violence and lots of bloodshed. SO in the end Robert McNamara is right and wrong since the cold war did has aspects of what an actual hot war would’ve had, but the power of this war is actually was made it the cold war. Question two: Why is the Cold War worth remembering? (Hint: you may like to use the criteria for historical significance that are listed above) The Cold War is definitely something to be remembered, all these different things going on throughout this time in the world has resulted in so much information and learning to be done. All these different aspects of the immense war show the world today what tragedies can happen in a short amount of time. Events such as the Berlin Wall will be remembered as long as time goes on, and the stories of the people inside these walls and their attempted escapes should be studied and remembered by everyone in the world. The world should remember the cold war and see what cannot be repeated again. They should look at this war and see the damage that can be caused just by the governments and the political powers of the world and how little disagreements can intern result in these bloody battles. Stories like the espionage 1 plane incident should be remembered and studied and people get to know what actually went on during this time of immense hostility. Movies and documentaries show the world today that people do want to know the worlds history and they would pay to see these stories be shown to them. That obviously means the the Cold War is worth remembering. If people start to forget what went on during this war, it could result in something like it happening again as they don’t know what could be the consequences of such a thing happening.
Background: The Chinese Communist Party was made because the leaders wanted to make a united China. Their aims were to make China a communist state in which the peasants owned the farms, industries and businesses.
Summary: The Communist Party of China was formed in 1921 but had its origins in the May Fourth Movement of 1919, in which radical ideologies like Marxism and Anarchism gained traction among Chinese intellectuals. It was under the control of Mao Zedong’s in 1927. The Second Sino- Japanese War caused a pause in the conflict between the CPC (Communist Party of China) and the KMT Eventually Mao led a revolution, and the communist party obtained control in 1947. The civil war also occurred at the same time as the Second Sino-Japanese War from 1931 – 1045, when Japan invaded China. During this time period, the KMT (Nationalists) against the CCP, but both sides occasionally did work together to fight the Japanese. After Japan’s surrender in 1945, the two sides could focus on each other. By this time, the KMT’s disastrous financial policies had bankrupted China while the CCP had gained much influence among the poor farmers and workers of China. In the Sino-Soviet split (Sino-Soviet Split was the deterioration of political and ideological relations between the neighboring states of People’s Republic of China and the Union of Soviet Socialists Republics during the Cold War) of the 1950’s, Mao split from traditional Marxism-Leninism and developed Maoism, the Chinese interpretation of communism.
Perspectives: The Nationalists in China had a completely different aim then the communists and they fought each other for a long time. The Chinese nationalism was drawn from extremely diverse ideological sources including traditional Chinese thinking. The Nationalists fought the communists in the Chinese Civil war and the communists came out victorious. People believed that this was because they made fewer military mistakes than the Nationalists. Also because in Chiang Kai-Sheks search for a powerful centralized government, he antagonized to many interest groups in china. Furthermore, his Chiang’s party was weakened in the war against the Japanese. Meanwhile communists targeted different groups such as peasants, and brought them to its corner.
Implications: After the communists gained victory in 1949, Mao propped a socioeconomic plan called The Great Leap Forward, an effort to boost agricultural output. He enforced plan to grow large quantities of crops, and often different kinds, in the same plots of land, often close together. It was believed (in accordance with communist ideology), that these several plants growing in close proximity to one another would help each other to grow. The result turned out to be the opposite, the crops ended up being malnourished because of its close proximity and Mao’s great leap forward ended up resulting in a major famine and an estimated death toll of forty to seventy million Chinese citizens. This result of communist leaders being elected caused horrific issues and a massive death toll.Sources1)
This photograph is an image that reveals the communists entering Beijing in 1949. This was the beginning of Mao’s real leadership and he was prepping to try bring this communist party to fruition. A lot of other places such as Shanghai suffered immense changes because they were captured by communists, but Beijing was spared because the general commanding the Nationalist troops surrendered to the communists.
SOURCE 2
SOURCE 3
) Mao Zong interviewd by Edgar Snow in Red Star Over China (1936)
“ In the winter of 1920, I organized workers politically, for the first time, and began .to be guided in this by the influence of Marxist theory and the history of the Russian Revolution. During my second visit to Beijing I had read much about the events in Russia, and had eagerly sought out what little Communist literature was then available in Chinese. Three books especially deeply carved my mind, and built up in me a faith in Marxism, from which, once I had accepted it as the correct interpretation of history, I did not afterwards waver. These books were the Communist Manifesto, translated by Chen Wangdao, and the first Marxist book ever published in Chinese; Class Struggle, by Kautsky; and a History of Socialism, by Kirkupp. By the summer of 1920 I had become, in theory and to some extent in action, a Marxist, and from this time on I considered myself a Marxist. “
This source indicates what it was like for people who hadn’t experienced China in their political ways yet. And see how they are influenced and pointed into a certain direction. Like Edgar Snow who interviewed Mao Zedong, who was the leader of the communist party. Mao Zedong explains how he came to be a Marxist and which then led to Mao become the leader of the Chinese Communist Party.
SOURCE 4
“Mao's Great Leap Forward 'killed 45 million in four years' Mao Zedong, founder of the People's Republic of China, qualifies as the greatest mass murderer in world history, an expert who had unprecedented access to official Communist Party archives said yesterday.”
This source is referring to the Great Chinese Famine that occurred while under Mao’s communist leadership. This was one of the worst disasters that have occurred in Chinas time. 45 million people lost their lives due to starvation and sicknesses/diseases. Mao’s vegetable plan was one of the big causes that contributed to the disaster unfolding and would eventually lead on to Mao not being ruler of the Chinese Communist Party for not much longer after this tragic event that would’ve ended so many innocent lives.
SOURCE 5
This picture indicates Mao Zedong standing in front of a Communist Flag, which is over looking China. Mao is seen to look very strong and looking very proudly over his great Communist nation. Mao Zedong was one of the main contributors to the spreading of Communism in China. If Mao Zedong and his followers had not been such a keen supporter of communism, it is so very likely that China would not have fallen to communism. But just looking at this image you can see how powerful Mao Zedong was and he wasn’t going to back down from a fight that easily.
SOURCE 6
This report is a detailed document on the political situation in China and on the events leading up to the formation of the Communist Government. Files such as this cover the economic situation and the British commercial interests in China. The document states that these people writing to the Chinese want to help maintain world peace and make sure that the Chinese are on these British people’s side and that communism is spreading all over the world.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
TIMETOAST LINK :
http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/most-important-events-of-the-cold-war
Question one:
“Cold War? Heck, it was a hot war!” (Robert McNamara, US Secretary of Defence 1961 – 1968)
To what extent do you agree with Robert McNamara’s statement that it was a ‘hot war’?
The cold war was very much indeed a hot water, because so many things were happening and going on that the whole world was getting very heated and flustered by the enormous amount battles and wars in wars that were going on around everyone. Robert McNamara was correct in what he said that it was indeed “a hot war”. But it was as well very much still a cold war, since much of the suffering from civilians and people were from the freezing temperatures that were happening in this area. The harsh weather conditions were almost a battle in itself and there was no way of getting around it, the weather couldn’t surrender or stop, it was just an ongoing battle that caused many diseases and sicknesses and resulted in millions of deaths. The Cold War actually did have a lot of armed fighting and lots of people lost their lives in result of this. But the main reasons that any of these fights broke out was because it was indeed a cold war and that the economic, political and military rivalry between all these nations actually caused hostility and it created an atmosphere of strain and had the potential and actually did end up leading to immense violence and lots of bloodshed. SO in the end Robert McNamara is right and wrong since the cold war did has aspects of what an actual hot war would’ve had, but the power of this war is actually was made it the cold war.
Question two:
Why is the Cold War worth remembering? (Hint: you may like to use the criteria for historical significance that are listed above)
The Cold War is definitely something to be remembered, all these different things going on throughout this time in the world has resulted in so much information and learning to be done. All these different aspects of the immense war show the world today what tragedies can happen in a short amount of time. Events such as the Berlin Wall will be remembered as long as time goes on, and the stories of the people inside these walls and their attempted escapes should be studied and remembered by everyone in the world. The world should remember the cold war and see what cannot be repeated again. They should look at this war and see the damage that can be caused just by the governments and the political powers of the world and how little disagreements can intern result in these bloody battles. Stories like the espionage 1 plane incident should be remembered and studied and people get to know what actually went on during this time of immense hostility. Movies and documentaries show the world today that people do want to know the worlds history and they would pay to see these stories be shown to them. That obviously means the the Cold War is worth remembering. If people start to forget what went on during this war, it could result in something like it happening again as they don’t know what could be the consequences of such a thing happening.